Congratulations to Krishna for his paper in Chem. Mater.!

Gallium-based liquid metals combine metallic conductivity, liquid fluidity, and dynamic oxide surfaces. These properties render them unique electrocatalysts wherein a continuously regenerating surfaces opposes to the solid surface of conventional electrocatalytic metals. Yet, a lot is unknown about liquid metals work. In this study, we investigate the behaviour of gallium nanoparticles under electrochemical CO2 reduction conditions using in situ electrochemical liquid-phase transmission electron microscopy.

We directly observe that the liquid Ga nanoparticles remain stable up to remarkably negative potentials, far beyond the expected reduction potential of their native oxide shell, before undergoing capillary-driven coalescence. These findings reveal that kinetics, rather than thermodynamics, governs the stability of the oxide shell, offering a new understanding of interfacial dynamics in liquid metal systems. This work provides a mechanistic framework for designing and stabilizing liquid metal electrocatalysts under operating conditions.